Paradoxes of “Free Floating” and Controversy of Betrayal: Intellectuals' Reflections on Themselves Against the Background of Terror

Throughout the 1900s, intellectuals have been defined as a “privileged minority” (according to Chomsky), or as outsiders, whose “free floating” condition (Mannheim) guarantees their functioning as “custodians of values like reason and justice” (Hofstadter). Julien Benda accused intellectuals of betraying this mission. But, perhaps, betrayal is built into the very nature of their privileged position; perhaps, by pretending to be “free floating,” generations of intellectuals have actually been constructing predictable paradigms, using calamity as a new kind of raw material for the old myth of lucrimax (Etkind). The tragic experience of Russian intellectuals provides us with fresh insight for this discussion.     

Moral Concerns and Policy Attitudes: Investigating the Influence of Elite Rhetoric

A growing body of research documents the crucial role played by moral concerns in the formation of attitudes and a wide range of political behaviors. Yet extant models of moral judgment portray a direct linkage between moral intuitions and policy attitudes, leaving little room for the influence of political context. In this article, we argue that political rhetoric plays an important role in facilitating the connection between moral intuitions and political attitudes. Using a unique combination of media content analysis of the stem cell debate and individual-level measures of the public’s moral foundations, we examine the role of rhetoric in linking a person’s moral foundations to his or her attitudes. Our results show that individuals who are the most likely to have been exposed to political rhetoric have the strongest connection between their moral foundations and their attitudes on the issue. We also find that rhetoric was persuasive on this moralized issue and present suggestive evidence that it was most persuasive among those who endorsed the relevant moral foundation.     

Marketization,Class Structure,and Democracy in China: Contrasting Regional Experiences

After two and half decades of market reforms in China, the question of whether reforms have created favourable social conditions for democracy and whether the country's emerging entrepreneurial class will serve as the democratic social base have become hotly debated issues in both academic and policy circles. Based upon an analysis of two regions – Sunan and Wenzhou, the two prototypical local development patterns in China – the article argues that different patterns of economic development have produced distinct local level social and political configurations, only one of which is likely to foster the growth of democratic practices. It suggests that China's political future is largely dependent upon the emerging class structure and class relations that reform and development have produced. If the market reforms and economic development only enrich a few (like the Sunan case), then the possibility of democratic transition will likely be very bleak. Nonetheless, the possibility of a brighter alternative exists, as demonstrated by the Wenzhou case. These arguments thus link China's political transition to critical social conditions, echoing Barrington Moore's influential work on the social origins of democracy and dictatorship.     

Elite defection and grassroots democracy under competitive authoritarianism: evidence from Burkina Faso

One determinant of the success or failure of political revolutions is whether there is a split among the ruling elites. Elite defections in a competitive authoritarian regime can tip the balance in favour of regime change and democratization. This article examines when and why elites defect through the case of Burkina Faso. In October 2014, President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso was forced to step down after 27 years in power and multiple term limits contraventions. We propose a new theory linking growth in democratic attitudes at the grassroots to elite defection from hegemonic parties. We argue that a broad increase in popular democratic attitudes can both decrease the costs and increase the benefits of elite defection, creating conditions that enable elites to rescind their loyalty to the regime. We support this argument with interviews with ruling-party defectors in Burkina Faso and two rounds of Afrobarometer survey data. Our findings demonstrate that democratic attitudes can grow under competitive authoritarian regimes, and that these citizen attitudes can impact regime change by increasing the likelihood of elite defection.     

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Abstract

South Africa like the rest of the world is facing critical challenges and opportunities relating to the Green Economy. The country has relevant policies, is part of various Green Economy International initiatives, Conventions and Declarations, has allocated funding to green economy programmes and projects and has made job projections in this sector. However, the education policies and the education system do not reflect an adequate paradigm shift towards a Green Economy. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2012) purports that the education systems in various countries need to adapt to this demand. It is against this backdrop that this article seeks to highlight the fact that the present job projections are not attainable owing to lack of skilled personnel in the green economy sector.     

Prevalence of sexual abuse in organised competitive sport in Australia

Abstract

This article reports the first phase of a three-phase research programme investigating the prevalence and long-term sequelae associated with sexual abuse in a non-psychiatric sample of male and female Australian athletes. A cross-sectional, retrospective design, using a mailed survey, provided a quantitative assessment of sexual abuse prevalence in a national sample of elite athletes and a regional sample of club athletes. Results from the total sample (n = 370) revealed that 31% of female and 21% of male athletes reported experiencing sexual abuse at some time in their lives. Of these, 41% of females, and 29% of males had been sexually abused within the sports environment. It was also found that almost half, 46.4%, of the elite group reporting sexual abuse had been sexually abused by sports personnel. For the club group, this figure was 25.6%. Implications of these results and current initiatives for the prevention of sexual abuse of athletes in Australia are discussed.     

试论警察执法的道德制约

警察在执法活动中存在着大量的有法不依、执法不公、执法犯法、执法权力滥用和执法腐败等现象,引发人们对警察执法的极大关注.这不仅对警民关系的健康发展造成灾难性的影响,而且还引发了人们对警察的信任危机和对法律的信仰危机.因此,必须加强对警察执法的约束.法律控制和道德约束是保证警察依法执法和公正执法的两个重要维度.就伦理维度而言,我们可以通过注重警察个体道德修养、加强警察伦理制度建设、改革警察道德教育模式、完善警察道德评价机制、实行警察道德激励机制、健全警察道德监督机制、优化警察执法道德环境等途径,来实现对警察执法的道德制约.     

村庄精英：村庄权力结构的中介地位

村庄精英在村庄权力结构中,居于承上启下的中介地位。体制内精英即通常所说的村干部,体制外精英指村庄的宗族精英、帮派势力、宗教精英和经济乡绅。体制内精英与体制外精英之间,村庄精英整体与中央政府、地方政府(特制乡镇政府)和普通村民之间产生博弈。     

从断裂到整合:对乡村振兴的政治社会学考察——基于冀西北地区X村的个案研究

在政治社会学的理论视域内,新时代实施乡村振兴战略的关键在于寻求国家与乡村社会的均衡互动。参照社会整合的分析框架以及X村的调研材料可以发现,在现代化的驱动下,历经深层次的社会改造和全方位的市场洗礼之后,当前的乡村社会同时出现了由传统宗族萎缩和村级组织涣散诱发的组织断裂问题、由伦理原则变迁和公共文化式微诱发的文化断裂问题以及由乡绅消亡和精英虚化诱发的精英断裂问题。面对缺乏有机统一性的断裂社会,落实乡村振兴战略必须从有效重整村庄社会入手,依循重建组织资源、复兴公共文化、强化精英供给的实践路径,筑牢与国家正向互动的社会基础,从而使国家与乡村社会的关系达成新的平衡。     

The Eurozone crisis and the European corporate elite: bringing corporate actors into focus

This paper uses a framework referred to as the ‘corporate reconstruction of European capitalism theory of integration’ to analyse the European Union’s response to the Eurozone crisis. Most political economy analyses of the Eurozone crisis have focused on political leaders, clashes between creditor and debtor member states and public opinions in analysing the handling of the crisis. This paper focuses instead on the input of corporate actors. It is argued that both the setting up of the European Monetary Union (EMU) and the handling of its crisis were congenial to corporate preferences. Europe’s nascent corporate elite was concerned with eliminating currency risk when the EMU was set up and therefore did not push for fiscal federalism. When the flawed architecture of the Eurozone transformed that currency risk into sovereign credit risk, corporate preferences adapted and now favoured fiscal liability pooling and ultimately the setting up of a fiscal union.